UW opens low-income taxpayer clinic for Albany County residents

The University of Wyoming’s new Low Income Taxpayer Clinic gives Albany County residents a nearby place to turn when an IRS notice turns into an audit, a collection case or a formal appeal. Housed in the University of Wyoming College of Business’s Department of Accounting and Finance in Laramie, the clinic offers free legal representation for qualifying taxpayers and is built to help people who might otherwise have to face federal tax trouble alone.

The clinic handles federal tax disputes, including appeals, audits, collections and federal tax litigation. UW says people seeking representation generally must have income at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines and a disputed amount of less than $50,000. Consulting services have no income restriction, and the clinic also says it generally does not prepare tax returns. For residents trying to sort out a billing notice, a payment dispute or a challenge to what the IRS says they owe, that distinction matters: the clinic is designed to defend taxpayers after problems arise, not just help fill out forms.

That local access changes the stakes in Albany County. Instead of paying for private tax help that many households cannot afford, residents can look to a university-based clinic that is independent of the IRS even though it receives partial federal funding. The clinic also provides community education and outreach across Wyoming, and it can help taxpayers who speak English as a second language, a detail that broadens its reach beyond one narrow slice of the county.

The clinic works alongside Albany County’s longstanding Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, a partnership between the University of Wyoming College of Business and the United Way that helps people prepare and file returns. The two services fill different gaps: VITA focuses on return preparation, while the taxpayer clinic steps in when a filing leads to a dispute, an audit or a collection problem. Nicole Choi, an associate professor at UW, founded and directs the program. A 2022 University of Wyoming news release said the clinic also uses an expert panel of tax controversy lawyers from Holland & Hart in Jackson for pro bono representation.

That same release said Wyoming had been one of four states without a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic before the program opened. Nationally, the need is large: the IRS said in January that it awarded more than $22.5 million in matching grants to 145 clinics for the 2026 grant year, and federal guidelines say IRS-funded clinics assisted more than 20,000 taxpayers in 2023, provided more than 17,000 consultations and reached nearly 92,000 taxpayers through education events. For Albany County residents facing a notice, a bill or an audit, the difference is simple: a tax problem now has a local defense in Laramie.